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Absence of New Orleans Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis clearly felt: Did You See?

Keenan Lewis injured

New Orleans Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis gets injured on this play at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia in an NFC wild-card game Saturday, January 4, 2014.
(David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)

Lewis and the Saints didn't have a choice after he slammed his head on the ground following a jarring hit to Eagles wide receiver Jason Avant with three minutes left in the third quarter.

He made the play, but remained down on the ground. Eventually, he went to the sideline with trainers to a chorus of boos from Philadelphia Eagles fans.

Payton said putting Lewis back in the game was not even an option.

"There's no such thing," Payton said. "There's just the doctors, and that's the right thing."

Lewis had to go through concussion protocol testing on the sideline and was forced to watch as the Eagles immediately completed a 40-yard pass to DeSean Jackson on the next play. They scored a few plays later as Lewis frantically tried to get someone to let him back in the game.

Cornerback Corey White said Lewis' helmet had to be taken away so he couldn't return.

"Oh yeah, he was about to (run back in)," White said. "He was trying to get on the field."

Eventually, Lewis was escorted to the locker room, shaking his head in frustration all the way. He later came back to the sideline, sans helmet, but did not return to the game.

"Anytime you have to leave the game and feel like you can play, you want to come back in," said White. "Especially in a playoff game and you're a vital point in our defense."

Rod Sweeting and Trevin Wade combined to take Lewis' place as the starting corner forlornly sat on the bench.

"Assuming Keenan's injury was a head injury, it's more important that he take care of his head than the Saints win this game," tweeted former Saint Steve Gleason.

The impact of Lewis' absence was felt immediately. Lewis was tasked with defending the Jackson, who had zero catches with him in coverage. Jackson finished with three catches for 53 yards.

"He means a lot to the defense," White said. "Every week we ask him to cover the No. 1 receiver, so it hurts a little bit, but I'm sure he'll be back next week (at Seattle). I talked to him after the game, and he was feeling all right."

LESEAN MCCOY

One of the biggest keys for the Saints was stopping the Eagles' running back.

McCoy was not only the NFL's leading rusher, but also led the league in yards from scrimmage. He had seven 100-yard games in the regular season.

McCoy couldn't seem to buy a yard Saturday.

The big-play threat wasn't much of a factor at all. McCoy finished with 21 carries for 77 yards and a touchdown, but his longest run was 11 yards.

His 3.7-yard average per carry was his lowest average since Nov. 11, and the 77 yards were his lowest in four games.

The Eagles finished with only 80 rushing yards, while the Saints, who are not known as a rushing team, finished with 185.

"I feel like we let the team down," McCoy said. "The first half we couldn't do anything. We didn't capitalize on any of the turnovers we got. We won the turnover battle and we could have done more."

THIRD-AND-SHORT

Saints quarterback Drew Brees isn't much of a runner.

He sure made every opportunity count Saturday.

Brees rushed five times for 13 yards against the Eagles, but more important, he converted several key plays.

On third-and-1 at the Saints' 47-yard line, he gained four yards.

On second-and-6 at the Saints 46-yard line later in the game, he gained five.

Brees also converted two third downs late in the fourth quarter with quarterback sneaks, gaining three yards on third-and-1 at the Eagles' 27-yard line, and then gaining a yard on third-and-1 at the Eagles' 15.

He also converted on fourth-and-1 early in the second quarter, but a false start on Ben Watson negated the play.

"I don't constitute 1-yard quarterback sneaks as a heavy rushing attack by the quarterback," Brees said. "Whatever it takes to get first downs."

1 - Playoff game the Saints have now won on the road in franchise history

23 - Passing touchdowns in the playoffs by Brees

25 - Degrees at kickoff

FROM THE COACH'S MOUTH:

"I said at the beginning of the week. We made light of a few things. But what's really going to matter is the result. And that's really the truth. As far as the history of the organization, I told those players: You carry your history. So I get it, and we understand that stereotype that sometimes comes with teams that play inside and you can't change that." -- Coach Sean Payton